Study: Cannabis oil 80% successful in helping autistic children

Israeli research shows CBD has 80% success rate in reducing problematic behavior among children with autism spectrum disorders.

Arutz Sheva Staff, 26/07/18 18:30

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An Israeli study recently published in the prestigious journal Neurology examined the effect of medical cannabis therapy on children on the autistic spectrum.

The study, led by Dr. Adi Aran, director of the pediatric neurology unit at Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem, found that cannabis treatment with a high concentration of CBD (the non-psychoactive substance considered to have medicinal properties) improved the condition of 80% of the children in the study.

The study included 60 children, with an average age of 12, whose condition had not improved with conventional drug therapy.

The children were treated using cannabis oil with a concentration of 20% CBD and 1% THC for at least seven months. THC is the main psychoactive ingredient in the marijuana plant. CBD, on the other hand, has no psychoactive effect.

At the end of the treatment period, the children's parents filled out questionnaires to assess the change in their condition. The parents were asked whether they had noticed a change in their child's behavior, the extent of their child's anxiety and whether their child's communication abilities had changed.

80% of the children’s parents who participated in the study reported a decrease in problematic behavior, with 62% percent reporting that their child's behavior improved significantly.

Nachshol Cohen, Founder of Cannabium, the first CBD marketplace, said: “According to the astonishing report, eighty percent of the children reported improved functioning! We hope that this research will help to bring about a conceptual change by regulators and policymakers, which will lead to a scientific momentum that will unequivocally demonstrate the positive effects of cannabis on a variety of health problems.”

The study also found that half of the children who participated in the study also reported an improvement in their level of communication, with 40% saying that their anxiety symptoms had significantly improved. A third of the participants did not show symptoms of anxiety before the study began.